Russia to send senior diplomats and military officials to Abu Dhabi talks

Russia’s delegation to US-mediated talks with Ukraine in Abu Dhabi next week will include senior military officials and diplomats, among them Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Interfax news agency, Reuters reported on 7 November.

The trilateral meeting is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, 10–11 November, and would be the first such talks since February. Those earlier US-mediated contacts paused before the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran, Reuters noted.

Who is going

The delegation will again be headed by Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky as chief negotiator. Ryabkov is joining the format for the first time. He oversees Russia’s relations with North and South America and handles arms control, non-proliferation and issues related to Iran’s nuclear programme.

Also named were Yury Zhigarlovsky, a deputy chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff, the body responsible for military planning and operations; Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin; and the chief of Russia’s military intelligence, Igor Kostyukov. Reuters said Galuzin and Kostyukov have joined past missions.

A Kremlin briefing, then closed doors

All members of the delegation met President Vladimir Putin on Friday at a Russian Security Council session partly devoted to the talks. In the televised opening minutes, Putin thanked the United Arab Emirates for hosting the negotiations and said he wanted to discuss preparations with the Russian team. Most of the meeting was closed to cameras, as is customary.

US negotiators have been seeking a breakthrough in the conflict before winter, Reuters reported. The Kremlin presented the expanded roster as the team that would represent Moscow; it did not, in the remarks relayed by Peskov, spell out any change in Russia’s negotiating position.